Quests Into Fantasy

Chapter 3

Gwen and Lance led everyone, as they themselves followed Narium. Everyone else assumed that Gwen and Lance were following the large dog, even though they couldn’t see it. Even in the light of their necklaces, the dog remained invisible to them.

“Try talking to him,” Lance whispered to Gwen, “Think what you want to say to him.”

“I’ll try. I can’t promise anything.” Gwen muttered back. That was all Lance wanted. He wanted to see if he was the only one or if someone else could speak to Narium.

‘Narium, where are you leading us?’ Passed through Gwen’s head, her eyes locked on the back of the dog’s head.

‘To the edge of the forest, Madam.’ Narium’s large head turned with grace back to the brunette. Gwen jumped and turned to Lance in shock.

“He said he’s leading us to the edge of the forest. Lance, how-?” The teen didn’t, or couldn’t, finish her sentence.

‘Narium, she’s about as confused about this as the rest of us are.” Lance thought.

‘I know that, Master. You have to discover this yourselves. I can only act as a guide in the night.’ The beast’s head turned back to face front.

They walked in silence for the rest of the way to the edge. Narium stopped and bowed his head to them both in turn when the light outside was in sight. Lance bowed in return. Gwen, feeling slightly afraid, knelt down and threw her arms around the neck of the dog. Narium seemed startled at the gesture.

‘I’m going to miss you. We’ll see you again, right?’ She asked the beast.

‘I hope so, Madam.’ Narium flashed a dog grin at her. At that moment, Nat approached them, Wil following closely. When she spotted them, Gwen dropped her arms and turned to the little girl.

“What is it, Nat?” She asked kindly.

“Is Narium going to leave?” Nat asked in a small voice.

“Yeah, sweetie. You wanna say goodbye?” Gwen replied. Nat nodded shyly. The older girl led the ten-year-old to the dog and put a small hand on his back. Now that she knew where Narium was, Nat almost tackled the dog as she gave him a goodbye hug. Narium looked back at the little blonde on his back and then turned back to Gwen.

‘Tell her that we shall see each other again, please, Madam. I will miss her as well.’ His grin faded.

“He’s going to miss you, Nat. But we’ll see him again. Don’t you worry.” Gwen smiled down at the girl to make her feel better. She looked up at the older girl.

“Come on, Nat. Let Narium go.” Wil stated as he began to gently lead his sister away.

‘Farewell, Narium.’ Lance kept his eyes on the dog. His dark brown eyes turned back towards him. He nudged his head into his hand.

‘I shall miss you too, Master. We will meet again.’ With that last word, Narium left the small group, departing into the forest. Lance felt a strange sense of loss at the dog’s parting. Gwen put a hand on his shoulder, stirring him from his reverie. He looked up at her. His eyes betrayed that sense he felt. She instantly was overcome with a want to just reach out and hug him.

“He’ll be back. Don’t worry.” She murmured to him. She then turned to everyone else “Let’s get going. I’m not too sure that this is the best place to hang around in alone.” They knew that she meant ‘without Narium.’

The group of seven began to head out into the bright sunlight. The sudden change in the lighting made them stop for several minutes, to simply regain their baring. When their eyes had adjusted, they stared in awe at what they saw before them.

A vast grassland spread out almost as far as the eye could see, going straight into the mountains, which rose up a fair distance from where they stood. The sun beat down on them from above. It was so unlike the dense, dark forest, they had to convince themselves that they weren’t dreaming.

After looking around in almost a daze, they began to walk towards the mountains. Penney lingered at the edge of the forest. She didn’t know why she did, but she felt sad to leave it, even thought she felt it might be dangerous. Then she heard it. Who it was, she doubted that she would ever know. But she knew she heard it. A small, soft voice singing. She replayed the words in her head.

“Going forward, you will find your way.
Go towards the light of day.
Stay together while you may…”

“Hey Penney! Come on!” Wil called to her. She snapped out of her reverie, gave him a grin, and dashed forward to catch up with them. Wil and Nat waited for her to catch up. Since they left the gloomy overhang of the forest, everyone felt lighter. Lance was smiling, if not grinning. Gwen was practically skipping. Jason and Viki were talking merrily. Nat was doing little twirls every few steps, making Wil and Penney laugh.

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The figure in white pulled back from the frame, showing the laughing group. The sound of innocent, humorous laughter made it shrink back, almost as if in fear or pain. A white gloved hand waved in front of the frame, making it glow a pale lavender before fading out of the scene. The figure then turned and sat in a smooth, black stone chair, almost shaking. It then put its arms out straight on the matching table and laid its head between them.

The same hooded and crouched figure watched its master.

“M-M-Master?” It stuttered thinly.

“I will be fine, Karish. Go and fetch some-” But the figure’s head turned to find the figure known as Karish already gone, “How can this be? They drain me with only their distant laughter. This never before has happened. Not in any of the battles I fought to gain control.” The hooded head of the figure picked up off the cool table, its violet eyes glinting maliciously, “But they will never know that advantage.”